Electric switch.



Patented. Apr. 9, 1918.

M. GUETT.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1913..

INVENTOR. Monroe Gue il:

m}, ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES:

MONROE GUETT, 0F HARTFORD, CONNECTIG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HART CONNECTICUT.

'U'I, ASSIGNOR TO THE HART & HEGEMAN roan, oonnnc'rrcor, A oonrona'rion or nnno'rmc ii Specification of Letters Iatent.

, Patented is. e, ieie.

Application filed November. 21, 1918. Serial No. 802,216.

ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Moxnon GUETT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches, of which the following is a spec1fication.

The object of this invention is to produce an electric switch having features of novelty and advantage and has part cular reference to the mechanism for moving the switch blades.

One embodiment of the invention 15 illustrated in the drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a switch embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a view on the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking to the left.

Fig. 3 is a plan View, Fig. 4 is a view showing the switch mechanism in one extreme position. Fig. 5 is a view showing the switch mechanism just before the cam plate is released.

Fig. 6 shows the cam plate when it has finished about one-half of its travel.

Fig, 7 shows the cam plate after havlng completed its travel, bringing the parts to the opposite extreme position to that shown in Flg. 4.

Referring to the drawings, 1 denotes the base upon which the switch mechanism may be mounted, the switch mechanism comprlsing a frame 2 in which a shaft 3 is mounted, and at the other end of which 18 a support 4 upon'which a pair of'dogs 5, 6, are p votally mounted, having oppos tely pro ectmg engaging arms 7 ,8, acting upon the switch arm operating mechanism, one at a time, to hold it in its extreme positions, and trip arms 9, 10, adapted to be engaged by the actuating plate to disengage the dogs from the swltc arm operating mechanism.

This switch arm operating mechanism as shown comprises a cam plate 11 mounted on the shaft 3 and having a cam slot 12 in which works a cam roller 13 carried by the switch arm 14. This switch arm carries the switch b1ades'15, 16, and the switch arm and the contact member are adapted for long1- tudinal movement into and out of engagement with the fixed terminals 17, 18, on the base 1. The cam plate is provided with 2.,

at the opposite sides one at a time. The actuating mechanism for the cam plate comprises an actuating plate 20 mounted on the shaft 3, and spring arms 21, 22, which project from the opposing surfaces of the cam plateand actuating plate into operative relation with one another, and of which lie the ends 23, 24, of a spring 25, which is located on the shaft 3. The switch arm is supported for longitudinalv movement at its forward end by the shaft 3 which projects through the slot 3 ,.and at .its rear end by a pair-of rollers 28,.engaging its upper and lower edges.

The operationof the mechanism is as fol lows, assuming the parts to be in the shown in Fig. 4: s

As. the actuating plate 20 is moved by a suitable operating handle 26, the spring arm 21 carries forward one end 23 of the Spring 25, placing it under tension; the cam plate 11 is held against movement by the engagement of the lug 19 with the upstanding arm 7 of the dog 5. During the motion of the actuating plate 20 a trip 27 moves into operative relation with the arm 9 of the dog 5, as shown in Fig. 5, and further movement of the actuating plate 20 causes this trip 27 to rock the dog 5 on its pivot, disengaging its upstanding arm, 7 from the lug l9 ofthe cam plate 11. This leaves the cam plate free for movement under the influence of the spring 25, acting through the arm 24 onthe pin 22 of the cam plate, and the camslot 12, operating on the cam roller 13, which is carried by th witch arm 14, moves the switch arm. Now, it will be seen that-the cam slot 12 is of irregular shape, causing a rapid initial movement of the switch arm 14 owing to its sharp inclination, and by comparison of Figs. 5 and 6 the amount of movement of the switch arm occasioned by about one-half of the movement of the cam plate will be clearly seen, and it will be noted that this movement brings the switch blades 15, 16 up to the'fixed terminals 17, 18. The final movement of the switch arm by the cam plate, occasioned by the less abrupt portionvof the cam slot, moves the switch arm from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 7, which is the opposite extreme position to that shown in Fig. 4, and,during this movement the switch blades er? clamped firmly against the fixed termina s. To produce a reverse movement of the position parts, a pull on the operating handle 26 will cause the pin 22 on the actuating plate 20 to tension the spring. and finally the other pin 2'? will engage the arm 10 of the dog 6 and rock it to. disengage its arm 8 from the lug 19. The less abrupt part of the cam slot will first relieve the pressure on the switch blade 16, and then the abrupt part of the cam slot will move the switch blades rapidly away from the fixed terminals to quickly break the circuit and prevent injurious arcin Attention is mrticula'rly directed to the form of the cam slot inthe cam plate, its shape being such that when the circuit is being; closed the movement of the switch arm and blades, to close the circuit, is a very rapid one, and the final movement to firmly bind the blades against the stationary contacts is a slow but powerful movement. Likewise. when the circuit is being broken, the cam first slowly releases the compression or the switch blades against the contacts, and then rapidly throws the switch arm and blades to quicklyopen the circuit.

lln some cases it is desirable that the switch shall be manually operated in one direction to close the circuit, and automatically operated in the other direction to open the circuit; a suitable device for accomplishing this object is shown in the drawings, and may comprise a spring, such as the tension spring 35, connected at one end to a suitable support and at the other end to the operating handle. This spring must be stronger than the throwing spring 25, since it is manually placed under tension,, and must be strong enough to wind up the throwing spring to cause the actuation of the mechanism. I

in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes 1 have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which it now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. But I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means. i

ll claim as my invention 1. An electric switch comprising an ac tuating member, a normally locked operating member, means for moving the former relatively to the latter to unlock it, means for moving the latter when unlocked relatively to the former, a switch arm driven by the operating member but movable separately therefrom, and switch blades connected with said arm.

2. An electric switch comprising an actuating member, a normally locked operating member pivotally mounted, means for moving the former relatively to the latter to unlock it, means for moving the latter when unlocked relatively to the former, a

rectilinearly movable switch arm driven by said operating member but movable separately therefrom, and switch blades connected with said arm,

3. Lin electric switch comprising an actuating member, a normally locked operating member, a spring connecting said members, means for moving the former relatively to the latter to energize said spring and to unlock said operating member, said spring acting" upon said operating member to move it when unlocked relatively to said actuating member, a rectilinearly movable switch arm driven by said operating member but movable independently thereof, and switch blades connected with said arm.

a. An electric switch comprising an actuating; member, a normally locked operating member, means for moving the former relatively to the latter to unlock it, means for moving the latter when unlocked relatively to the former, a switch arm, said operating member and said arm being providcd with a cotiperating cam slot and roller, forming a driving connection therebetween, and switch blades connected with said arm.

5. electric switch comprising a pivoted actuating member, a normally locked pivoted operating member, a spring forming a driving connection between said members when the latter is unlocked, means for moving said actuating member to. energize said spring and unlock said operating member, a cam slot in said operating member, a switch arm, a roller thereon adapted to ride in said cam slot, and switch blades connected with said switch arm.

v6. An electric switch comprising a pivoted actuating member, a normally locked pivoted operating member, a spring forming a driving connection between said members when the latter is unlocked, means for moving the actuating member to energize said spring and unlock said operating member, a cam slot in said operating member, a rectilinearly movable switch arm, a roller thereon working in said cam slot, and switch blades connected with said arm.

7. in an electric switch, a switch arm, switch blades connected therewith, an opcratingmember, and means for imparting varying; rates of speed to said switch arm by said operating member.

8. lln an electric switch, a switch arm, switch blades connected therewith and an operating member, a quickly-acting driving connection between said operating member andswitch arm to produce a portion of the movement of said arm, and a slowacting driving connection therebetween to complete the movement of said arm.

9. in an electric switch, a switch arm adapted for movement between its extreme positions, an operating member, and a vagas (ill

riable driving connection between said arm and member.

10. In an electric switch, a switch arm adapted for movement between two extreme positions, and means for moving said arm rapidly to and from one extreme position, and slowly to and from the other extreme position.

11. An electric switch comprising an actuating member, a normally locked operating member, means for moving the former relatively to the latter to unlock it, means for moving the latter when unlocked relatively to the former, a switch arm driven I by said operating member but movable separately therefrom, switch blades connected with said arm, a handle by which said actuating member is manually moved in one direction, and automatically operating means to move said handle and actuating member in the opposite direction.

12. An electric switch comprising an actuating member, a normally locked operating member, means for moving the former relative to the latter to unlock it, means for moving the latter when unlocked relatively to the former, a switch arm, interengaging parts on said operating member and arm forming a driving connection therebetween, said interengaging parts being movable with relation to one another, and switch blades connected with said arm.

13. In an electric switch, a switch arm, switch blades connected therewith, an operating member, and interengaging parts on said switch arm and operating member movable relative to one another, one of said interengaging parts being irregularly shaped to cause the movement of said switch arm at varying rates of speed.

MONROE GUETT. Witnesses:

ROY M. OLEs, FRED. R. S'roL'L. 

